[Youtube] A young, Black RP supporter on why he supports Paul

I hate having to color code ourselves because of these smears. It's collectivist.

It's not collectivism. It's realism. It's funny how people don't have a problem with "Jews for Paul" or "atheists for Paul" or "veterans for Paul" or "Christians for Paul", but whenever someone says "Hey, I'm black and I support Ron Paul" some folks get nervous. Why? Because this undercuts the myth that if we pretend the color divide doesn't exist that it will go away? It won't. I know. I've lived it. I've been in rooms where white people forgot I was there and then started talking about black people, even using the N-word, and got all apologetic when they realized I was there. And I've seen black people dog white people too. Why are the PTB able to exploit race? Because people naturally are collectivists. We naturally group things in the world around us, make pre-judgments about them (hence the word "prejudice") and do that to simplify our lives. If our ancestors weren't able to recognize that the funny colored snake was poisonous that might not live long enough to pass on their genes. But sometimes the funny colored snake was an impostor and possibly good eating.

We do have to get past collectivism and rise to a higher level, but that's won't happen by "wishing" it away. This "newsletter" flap helps to underscore that. There are a lot of white people that believe 95% of blacks in D.C. are criminal or semi-criminal. I don't think Ron Paul ever believed that, but if he once did I don't care. I do know that he's been able to see passed and explain some of the negative race/crime statistics such as when he said blacks made up 14% of those who used drugs, but 36% of those who are arrested for drugs and 63% of those ultimately convicted for drug use. He wouldn't be able to make such a salient point about how the drug war actually hurts minorities if he had stuck his head in the sand and pretended there was no color line in this country.

So yes. I'm black and I support Ron Paul. And I support threads like this one. I don't go around wearing my race on my sleeve. My nickname isn't "blackjmdrake". But I'm not ashamed of my "color code" either. I think it's given me a different perspective on life and hearing from different perspectives is important for decoding this bizarro world that the United States of America has become.
 
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+rep.

I believe that there is only one race: the human race. I hate racial division, and collectivism in all it's forms. However politically, I also understand and apply demographics.

No question it's dissonant. It hurts just like cognitive dissonance even though I know that demographics is the illusion. It incorporates intangibles like cultures and communities that you can't really quantify. We ignore demographics in politics to our own peril.

One day, God willing, we will emerge from our current collectivist nightmare into a world where race matters not at all. In the world we live in today, sadly, race remains an issue. "If you want to defeat the matrix you have to jack in" said the gentleman in the OP and it's true. If we are ever going to achieve King's dream of a society based on character rather than race, then we have to destroy the matrix, and to destroy the matrix we have to jack in.

The good news is that it can be done without sacrificing principle. Here I am, Scotch/Irish and Polish and full blooded American, ran in 2010 as a Republican (and won) in a heavily Democratic district...and won the Black vote.

If society were not already broken, then that would mean nothing. The fact alone that this is remarkable demonstrates that we as a society have not yet moved beyond race. Until we do, I will continue to seek to destroy racial collectivism from the inside by building coalitions around unifying ideas that bring all manner of people together. And part of that is targeting demographics. That's the dissonant part.

In 2010, we reached out to Black citizens in the district with the claim that I am fighting to restore Frederick Douglass's vision for the Republican Party. That is 100% true. Frederick Douglass spent the latter half of his life, and the majority of his political career, as a strict construction Constitutionalist. He fought for liberty, and human and civil rights. The parallels between Douglass's fight and our own are frankly amazing.

In the end, it boils down to selecting messaging that meets your audience. When you go to a group of dairy farmers, talk about raw milk. When you go to a group of gun rights activists, talk about concealed carry and carry in parks. When you go to a gathering of health and medical naturalists, talk about alternative medicine. When you go to a meeting of business people talk about taxes and regulations, and when you go to a meeting populated almost exclusively with Black Americans, talk about Frederick Douglass and why his vision is still important for us today.

It's not pandering unless you are lying, or pretending to do/be/support something you do not in the hopes of getting votes you do not deserve. Why would you talk to dairy farmers about alternative medicine?

I don't like demographic targeting any more than anybody else around these parts, which is to say not very much at all. But like it or not, demographics is a part of politics. I don't like it, but I bite the bullet and do it, because if we don't do it, we don't win.

Just remember, it is very possible to reach different demographics with tailored messaging without giving an inch on principle. It's hard, but it's possible. And alas, it's necessary. Just let's keep our eyes on the prize, and know that we are fighting to eliminate the very collectivist categorizations that we are using to gain access to be in the position to eliminate collectivism.

That last sentence sounds awfully dissonant doesn't it? I can say the exact same thing in a way that makes more sense... "Just let's keep our eyes on the prize, and know that we are fighting to eliminate the very matrix that we are using to gain access to be in the position to eliminate the matrix."

Do you feel that little squeezing sensation on the brain? Yeah, me too. One day society WILL finally move beyond race until we are (mostly) just the human race. There will always be reprobates, of course. Until then, for the purpose of achieving political victory, we will have to account for racial demographics. What we DO with that political victory, well, that's what determines whether we are principled champions of human rights, or despicable hypocrites who deserve to be dropped down the memory hole.

So I've mostly come to terms with addressing racial demographics in politics. I may not like it, but I recognize it's necessity.

my 2¢
 

Why do I get the feeling that she searched for two weeks to find the right setting for that video and another two days waiting for the right lighting condition? :)



Edit:

on topic: I like this thread. +rep to Miguel, Gunny and jmdrake
 
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It's not collectivism. It's realism. It's funny how people don't have a problem with "Jews for Paul" or "atheists for Paul" or "veterans for Paul" or "Christians for Paul", but whenever someone says "Hey, I'm black and I support Ron Paul" some folks get nervous. Why? Because this undercuts the myth that if we pretend the color divide doesn't exist that it will go away? It won't. I know. I've lived it. I've been in rooms where white people forgot I was there and then started talking about black people, even using the N-word, and got all apologetic when they realized I was there. And I've seen black people dog white people too. Why are the PTB able to exploit race? Because people naturally are collectivists. We naturally group things in the world around us, make pre-judgments about them (hence the word "prejudice") and do that to simplify our lives. If our ancestors weren't able to recognize that the funny colored snake was poisonous that might not live long enough to pass on their genes. But sometimes the funny colored snake was an impostor and possibly good eating.

We do have to get past collectivism and rise to a higher level, but that's won't happen by "wishing" it away. This "newsletter" flap helps to underscore that. There are a lot of white people that believe 95% of blacks in D.C. are criminal or semi-criminal. I don't think Ron Paul ever believed that, but if he once did I don't care. I do know that he's been able to see passed and explain some of the negative race/crime statistics such as when he said blacks made up 14% of those who used drugs, but 36% of those who are arrested for drugs and 63% of those ultimately convicted for drug use. He wouldn't be able to make such a salient point about how the drug war actually hurts minorities if he had stuck his head in the sand and pretended there was no color line in this country.

So yes. I'm black and I support Ron Paul. And I support threads like this one. I don't go around wearing my race on my sleeve. My nickname isn't "blackjmdrake". But I'm not ashamed of my "color code" either. I think it's given me a different perspective on life and hearing from different perspectives is important for decoding this bizarro world that the United States of America has become.

Very well put ;) Totally agree..
 
Not to be critical, but lets put this into perspective. Finding one black person on Youtube that supports Ron Paul doesn't mean people are waking up.
 
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